Those two players were albatrosses for the Montreal Canadiens and the New York Rangers, respectively.

Thanks to an agreement between the NHL and the NHL Players' Association, NHL teams were able to accelerate the buyout process. Each team gets two buyouts before the end of the 2013-14 season and the Canadiens and Rangers have used one of theirs.

2. Shawn Horcoff, Edmonton Oilers

Shawn Horcoff has two years remaining on a contract that will pay him $5.5 million each of the next two seasons.

Horcoff scored 13 goals last season and added 21 assists for a total of 34 points. Horcoff was minus-23 last season for the Oilers. He was minus-29 in 2009-10. Horcoff has scored 17 goals or less in each of the last four seasons.

The Oilers are loaded with young talent and may need to find some mid-level veterans to add to the roster. They will likely need to buy out Horcoff.

6. Mike Green, Washington Capitals

Mike Green has been one of the key players for the Washington Capitals and has a booming shot from the point.

However, Green has had a difficult time staying healthy the last two seasons. Green played by 49 games in 2010-11 and 32 games last season. He scored 11 goals in the last two seasons after scoring 50 goals the two seasons previous to those.

Green has two years remaining on a contract that will pay him $6.08 million the next two seasons.

He could be a buyout candidate for the Caps next season, especially if he continues to be troubled by injury problems.